[Video + AAR] Best. Karbala. Round. Ever. (As COMMANDER)

[=]H[=COEMAN]

I got to get popcorn before i watch video, because I ate it all waiting for the video to be released. Running out to store, be back in a bit, don't start without me.......

[andrewthecool]

yea the littlebirds cant take much damage before they go kaput. sounds like a good round. still havent had that great of a round in my PR history, where whole team works together. exept that one time on kashan as armor....

[combatwombat]

Is there any more footage available? That looked AWESOME. I could watch the whole round

I noticed you had =]H[= members on your team. Did you have to exercise kick powers to remove any team members who were not cooperating (i.e., "1337 sn1pars" who steal a transport humvee and drive by themselves to the other side of the map)?

Around what time was this, EST? I will have to play on your server more often; I want a piece of that action!!

ADDIT: And when will your server go back to being 100% insurgency?!? AAS FTL

[MAC$DRE]

Is there any more footage available? That looked AWESOME. I could watch the whole round

I noticed you had =]H[= members on your team. Did you have to exercise kick powers to remove any team members who were not cooperating (i.e., "1337 sn1pars" who steal a transport humvee and drive by themselves to the other side of the map)?

Around what time was this, EST? I will have to play on your server more often; I want a piece of that action!!

ADDIT: And when will your server go back to being 100% insurgency?!? AAS FTL

it actually wasnt too hard getting people to cooperate, i think the SL's had a good handle on their troops and had confidence in the team and commanders orders. after the first cache were like, holy fuuuuu this is sweeeet. We only had 1 or 2 players that went lone wolf on our team... one guy took a HAT into the field and lost it immediatly, he was kicked for" helping the enemy and disrupting gameplay" he had ample warnings not to take the HAT into the field and he still did it. i think that was the only guy we actually booted. Not only was the round fun from a teamwork perspective, but it was SO NICE not having to babysit (admin) the server because everyone was well behaved. sometimes its so frustrating because with admin comes responsibilty to uphold the rules, and often this gets in the way of actually playing.

All in all, by far the best round Ive ever been a part of, even more organized and fun than some matches ive been in.

loved every minute of it. I think i had a boner the whole round, im not sure

The round was in the evening around 7 or 8 pm pacific. Dunno if we'll go back to pure insurgency, alot of us H guys like AAS because if the teams are evenly matched has ALOT more teamwork involved than INS. But if you feel strongly enough, drop us a line at HARDCOREGAMINGCLAN.COM

[=]H[=COEMAN]

Those MEC guys in my opinion are insurgents, so yes we are 100% insurgency

[Runningman]

Excellent AAR and great work on the video gents! It looked like the kind of round every PR player wants to be part of. A great show-piece not only for your server but also for the wider PR community, showing that if the team is willing and has the right attitude what is achievable in regular public play.

[combatwombat]

Well, i got inspired by this report to try and command a round on Ramiel on =]H[='s Chicago Insurgency and it was a total cluster****. I tried to keep the whole team focused on a single objective - using your same strategy - but everyone got scattered pretty quickly. People kept breaking common sense rules, like running off with sniper kits & HATs only to die & hand them over to the insurgents, trying to use the BH as a gunship over technical-infested urban areas, or driving strykers way too far into hot areas. When I asked them not to, they would either not listen or just tell me to f off.

I picked 2 of the players who I thought were being 1) the most disrespectful and 2) hurting the team effort the most and asked for them to be kicked. I don't want to name names but the =]H[= admins on the other team - unless I missed something - did nothing and actually just taunted me in chat... which I can kind of understand since they were on the opposing team, but am I crazy for thinking it would have been more sportsman-like for them to help me get my team organized? Especially when people are breaking every rule displayed on the server loading screen? Another admin also said in pub chat "it's OK not to follow your commanders orders sometimes" while I was trying to get people coordinated.

Overall I probably had 2-3 squads (out of 9) following orders. Some people really tried to help me hold things together, and it's only because of their efforts that we eventually got 5 caches (which I suppose is better than average for Ramiel).

Hindsight being 20/20 I guess a lot of the clusterf**kage in this round was due to my own failings as a commander (and being overzealous after reading this report). But I still think that in order to effectively run a team you either need mature players or the power to kick. Looks like I'll be sticking to SL

[Jafar Ironclad]

Combatwombat, part of the reason why I was able help pull off what I did was because I commanded the Insurgent team the previous round in Fallujah West. There, I really didn't give many orders; the only thing I did was used squad leader reports and informants to relay lots of information to the team. We were able to squeak out a victory with one cache left to defend. The next round, most of the same people followed me to the US in the server teamswitch, they were much more trusting of my ability to command.

Here's my priority list as commander-

Priority one: Facilitate the distribution of intel. This requires squad leaders who are willing to report their contacts; the better you do this job, the greater an overall picture you and your squad leaders get of the battle as a whole. Oftentimes in public games, this is all you can do.
Inform first, give orders later.

Priority two: When applicable, communicate with air assets as much as possible, particularly gunships and bombers. A team will like you a lot more if you relay air strike requests and give grid references for the pilots; your pilots will like you a lot more if you use Priority one's intel to keep them aware of anti-aircraft dangers.
As you become more familiar with aircraft handling and their threats, you can use information to give much more specific data to the pilot needed for an attack run. Knowing that they need to hit a spot that might be lasered in B5kp3 is different from being told to make an east-to-west high speed pass on a insurgent holdout, with observers attempting to mark moving vehicle targets with GLTD's, and also being told to egress to the north after completing the strike to minimize ground fire. The more questions answered, the more comfortable the pilot, and the more effective the strike.

Priority two-A: Report vehicle health to asset squads. You have detailed information about the hull integrity of that Bradley that just got hit in the front armor by an RPG; they only know that they just got hit by an RPG. If you see it go down suddenly, advise them of their status and to fall back for repairs.

Priority three: Designate clear and attainable strategic objectives for the team. If you want to be able to do this throughout a round, you must do so immediately and in teamchat during a briefing, so that everybody on the team knows what's up. If squad leaders disagree, hear them out and argue your case, you have a minute or so during the briefing before people are mobile.
This also requires an intimate knowledge of the map and risk areas. Often the difference between an okay commander and an excellent commander lies in knowledge of the battlespace.

Priority four: When multiple squads are operating in concert to accomplish your objectives, facilitate mutual support. This is absolutely critical to keeping the focus of a team-wide assault. For instance, if you have two strykers (in one squad) and two infantry squads attacking a cache, declare (with a comm to all squad leaders) that the strykers are to hold and provide covering fire for the infantry units while they advance into the suspected cache area. Done correctly, this will minimize casualties; if teammates die less when following your orders, count on them following your orders. (Conversely, if your orders generate more-than-acceptable casualties, expect mutiny)

Things to avoid:

-Micromanaging individual members of squads, or giving orders that split a squad. Remember two things: one, that's the squad leader's prerogative, two, you are more aware of the large-scale situation and less aware of the situation from the squad's perspective. If there is a threat to the squad that they have not accounted for, do not order them to engage; rather, advise them that there is a threat from (relative cardinal direction).
The exception to this rule is when squads are operating in mutual support and request assistance of specific types. In this case, tell the squad whose support is desired that they're needed to do "blank". If they are too heavily occupied, it's not the end of the world; just deliver the bad news to the squad needing help, or try and find another squad to help out.

-Report unconfirmed or outdated contacts incorrectly. This is more of a subtle thing; if you present intelligence that turns out flawed, squad leaders will trust you less.
The trick here is in the language of your report:
"Squad two, be advised, there may be a technical to your west."
"Squad two, be advised, we have recent unconfirmed reports of technical activity to your west; be on the lookout."
The latter sentence is a little wordier, but if that technical is not reported as an immediate threat, you have time for words. It tells the squad leader everything they need to know based on what you know: Somebody else recently sighted and reported a technical operating west of their position.

-Lose mindfulness of your role. You are more supervisor than manager as far as your team is concerned. Different teams will require different things from their commander.

Just a few things to spur your approach for now. See you on the battlefield, CombatWombat!

Anyone else want to add to this?

[MAC$DRE]

as a squad leader, i like to keep my crew in order. there is no better way to lead a squad than by example and no question who is in charge/leading.

My requirements to be in my squad are, VOIP, communication, discipline in engaging or NOT engaging targets, following move marks, staying with the squad and utilizing their kits effectively. when this does not happen i kick them out, i don't care what tags you're wearing, these are not requests.

I don't command much anymore because i feel I'm more useful in the field on the squad level, especially in conjunction with a capable commander in the booth. it's a sad truth that many (i hesitate to say most) players are ONLY concerned with their squad or personal goals. I see squads running around building pointless FOB's only to camp them or gain points. Of course they think they're helping... When there is not a skilled commander, its up to the squad leaders to make it happen. in this case we try to get 2 or 3 squads working together with SLs on ventrilo (armor, infantry, aux infantry etc...)

.80 really changed the commander game, and .87 sort of brought it back with UAV, but its still hard to get someone dedicated enough to sit back and command the whole round. but the reality is if you're being a good commander, youre hardly sitting back sippin a brew... YOU ARE THE CENTRAL HUB OF INFORMATION AND DIRECTION for the team, there should never be a dull moment.

[Jafar Ironclad]

but the reality is if you're being a good commander, youre hardly sitting back sippin a brew... YOU ARE THE CENTRAL HUB OF INFORMATION AND DIRECTION for the team, there should never be a dull moment.

This. I was completely active and thinking during the two and a half hours.

A lot of people think commander is boring and unrewarding. Me? Mac$dre, I recall one of your allchat comments during the game "I've got such a huge boner right now" from squad leading. I get that kind of boner from facilitating coordination across an entire team. So I go commander when there is none.

[MAC$DRE]

Mac$dre, I recall one of your allchat comments during the game "I've got such a huge boner right now" from squad leading. I get that kind of boner from facilitating coordination across an entire team. So I go commander when there is none.

lol yeah i did say that... it was an arousing experience

[Georgerulz111]

WOW, Yeah I was there... as an Insurgent... It was so frustrating when we saw one humvee we just ran because we knew there would be 4 other humvee's and 2 strykers prowling around with it lol.

I was lucky because i called in a successful area attack that destroyed 3 of your humvee's

[Georgerulz111]

OH MY GOSH I JUST REALISED THAT BOMB CAR IN THE BEGGINING OF THE VIDEO WAS ME LOL I GOT OWNED

[=]H[=COEMAN]

Well, i got inspired by this report to try and command a round on Ramiel on =]H[='s Chicago Insurgency and it was a total cluster****. I tried to keep the whole team focused on a single objective - using your same strategy - but everyone got scattered pretty quickly. People kept breaking common sense rules, like running off with sniper kits & HATs only to die & hand them over to the insurgents, trying to use the BH as a gunship over technical-infested urban areas, or driving strykers way too far into hot areas. When I asked them not to, they would either not listen or just tell me to f off.

I picked 2 of the players who I thought were being 1) the most disrespectful and 2) hurting the team effort the most and asked for them to be kicked. I don't want to name names but the =]H[= admins on the other team - unless I missed something - did nothing and actually just taunted me in chat... which I can kind of understand since they were on the opposing team, but am I crazy for thinking it would have been more sportsman-like for them to help me get my team organized? Especially when people are breaking every rule displayed on the server loading screen? Another admin also said in pub chat "it's OK not to follow your commanders orders sometimes" while I was trying to get people coordinated.

Overall I probably had 2-3 squads (out of 9) following orders. Some people really tried to help me hold things together, and it's only because of their efforts that we eventually got 5 caches (which I suppose is better than average for Ramiel).

Hindsight being 20/20 I guess a lot of the clusterf**kage in this round was due to my own failings as a commander (and being overzealous after reading this report). But I still think that in order to effectively run a team you either need mature players or the power to kick. Looks like I'll be sticking to SL

Don't feel bad. I run the server and the =]H[= Clan and nobody listens to me either. If you can get 2 to 3 squads to listen to you, you can make a big impact, remember that.

[myles]

Nice god editing and one of the best gamplay videos of PR iv see

[MAC$DRE]

Nice god editing and one of the best gamplay videos of PR iv see

thanks, ralfidude and I worked pretty hard on it for about 4 days (during finals week).

Credit to the commander Jafar, and all the players OPFOR and BLUFOR that made the round possible.

Years from now, when i look back at PR (if im not totally occupied with PR2 at that time :razz This will be the round that i remember. This is the reason i play, because every round i get a taste of this, but once in a blue moon, I get to experience 2 hours of 32 players acting as 1... the effect of the whole is greater than the sum of the effects of the individual parts.

[Guard81]

I started watching this on YT a couple of weeks ago. It's an excellent source of information on how things work when people listen and I would recommend it to many newer team commanders out there.

It nicely covers what I beleive are the three primary duties of a CO in PR.

*Keep the information flowing.
*Keep the SL's updated on your plan.
*Keep calm and try not to panic.

[-.-Maverick-.-]

I wish there were more good commanders. Most of them are either to bossy with bad strategies, or are just acting AFK all the time.

Thumbs up to you man, nice work.

[Jafar Ironclad]

Here, not so much a necro as a transfer to an OFH: I request this thread be moved to Tales from the Front as a inspiration to commanders.

Updated main post with the "Priorities list" in response to Combatwombat's post.

Hopefully PR 0.9's commanders can use this experience to inform their technique.

[Kosari]

HAHA nice